


Paradise

by Miss_Prince



Category: Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka? | Is the Order a Rabbit?
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Survival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-07
Updated: 2014-09-07
Packaged: 2018-02-16 10:30:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2266389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Prince/pseuds/Miss_Prince
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While on a summer vacation trip, Chino and Cocoa end up stranded together on an island.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Paradise

**Author's Note:**

> Written for beforeamirror for the Multifandom Yuri Fest on stseiya_fanfics

"Ocean! Ocean, ocean, ocean!"

The sun was warm and the breeze was refreshing as the two little sailboats cut a course across the sea. Cocoa stood up in the middle of the boat she shared with Chino and spread her arms wide, laughing with glee.

"Cocoa-san, please sit down." Chino adjusted the sail a bit, trying not to knock Cocoa into the water with the boom. "You'll tip us over."

Cocoa sat, enthusiasm not diminished in the slightest, and settled for trailing her fingers in the water as they zipped along. This was only a small improvement, as she was leaning far enough over that the ship started listing to port, but Chino scooted as far to starboard as she could and that was enough to keep them upright.

"Ah! It was so nice of Rize-san to invite us to her family vacation home for the summer!" Cocoa said, beaming, and removed her hand from the water to wave at Chiya and Rize in the boat sailing beside them. Rize flashed them a victory sign in return from where she sat in the stern, and Chiya smiled and waved.

Cocoa settled back into the center of the boat, and with a sigh of relief Chino returned her weight to center as well. In a quieter voice, Cocoa added, "I knew Rize's family was rich, but rich enough to own a private island..."

Chino was inclined to agree. Fancy private school educations and lavish mansions with giant swimming pools were one thing. A twenty kilometer tropical island with its own private airstrip (and _another_ lavish mansion, which there was no reason to believe wouldn't have its own giant swimming pools) was another. And the little sailboats they were currently enjoying were dwarfed by the yachts moored peacefully in the private marina. Still, it seemed a little uncouth to come out and say so, and so Chino made only a soft hum of agreement, which was swallowed easily by the sound of the wind.

"Almost there!" Rize's voice carried across the water. She pointed ahead of them, where the island they were chasing was beginning to loom large in their sights.

"Land ho!" Cocoa called back enthusiastically.

Chino's tongue poked out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated on guiding their craft toward the section of beach Rize was bound for. Having Cocoa as her crew made things harder rather than easier, but she had a great deal of practice at working around Cocoa in a variety of settings, and so it wasn't too difficult for them to make it to shore without incident.

It was, however, at least worth a sigh of relief.

As Chino and Cocoa pulled their boat up onto shore, Rize and Chiya grabbed the picnic basket out of their sailboat. It had been placed for safekeeping with Rize, who was the most experienced sailor of the four and thus less likely to turn her boat over and dump their lunch into the ocean. Chino had been rather worried about that possibility, and she chose not to bring anything with her, including her phone, which she really didn't want to lose at the bottom of the sea. It wasn't like she had anywhere to keep it, anyway; the sundress she was wearing over her swimsuit didn't have any pockets.

Cocoa did have pockets, having elected to wear shorts and a halter top over her own swimsuit, but they were not doing her any good at the moment, as said shorts were currently lying in the bottom of their boat while Cocoa happily splashed around in the surf.

"That was fast," Rize commented, stopping beside Chino for a moment to watch Cocoa's antics. "She always has a lot of energy."

"It's a shame Syaro-chan couldn't come," Chiya said. "She just gets so seasick."

Chino recalled the image of Syaro standing on the beach, waving a miserable-looking goodbye even though she'd insisted that they go without her. "It is a shame. She would've been more helpful than Cocoa-san."

Rize laughed. "Hey Cocoa!" she called. "Come help us set up the picnic!" When Cocoa was slow to respond, she added, "Or you won't get to eat any of it!"

Their hair fluttered back as Cocoa zoomed past, snatching the picnic blanket out of Rize's arms as she did so. When they turned around they found the blanket already spread on the ground and Cocoa setting out plates for each of them. Chino's eyes trailed down Cocoa's body, taking in her cute two-piece swimsuit and the alarming amount of skin it bared, damp with seawater.

When she realized what she was doing she snapped her head away, face flaming hot. "Chiya-san, let me help with the food," she said, determined to find a distraction.

Rize looked over at her and tilted her head. "Are you feeling okay, Chino-chan? Your face is really red."

"It's nothing," Chino said. She walked over to where Chiya was standing with the picnic basket, having relieved Cocoa of it, and reached inside.

Chiya peered at her. "My, my. Chino-chan, are you-"

"I'm fine."

"...Well, if you say so. It's just that your face is-"

"I'm fine."

Unfortunately, this exchange caught Cocoa's attention. "Eh? Chino-chan's face is red! Are you okay?"

Chino's jaw clenched. "I'm-"

But it was too late. Cocoa was already standing in front of her, hands cupping her cheeks. Chino felt her blush deepen, and she tried to look anywhere but Cocoa's face. Although, given where her eyes immediately settled, maybe "anywhere" was a bad idea. She dragged her gaze back up to somewhere around Cocoa's neck and did her best to keep it there.

"Ah, your face is so warm! Are you overheating? We have to get Chino-chan somewhere shady and cool! Don't worry, I'll carry you!"

"Please don't."

"It's fine, it's fine!" Cocoa continued. Chino could see her smile in her peripheral vision. "After all, it's a natural thing for a big sister to do!"

Chino's stomach sank a little at those words. She heard them often enough; she had thought she might get desensitized to the disappointment eventually. "I'm fine, really," she insisted, taking a step back.

But Cocoa was not easily deterred. She stepped forward, right back into Chino's personal space. "It isn't any trouble, so don't worry about that! Chino-chan should just say 'Thank you, onee-chan!' instead!"

Chino stepped back again. "I won't say that."

Cocoa stepped forward, and Chino took another step back. "Come on, don't be shy!" Cocoa continued to advance as Chino backed away "It's easy! Say it with me: 'Thank you, onee-chan!'"

"Please stop."

"Onee-chan, onee-chan, onee-chan!"

There was water lapping at her ankles now. Chino's eyebrows knitted in annoyance. "Cocoa-san."

"Pleeeease?" Cocoa made as if to hug her, but Chino twisted away, unamused. Unfortunately, she lost her footing in the surf and toppled over backwards with a splash.

"Ah! Chino-chan, are you alright?" Cocoa said. "Here, let me help you." She offered a hand.

Chino batted it forcefully away and, with a bit of a struggle, stood on her own. She puffed out her cheeks in irritation. "Cocoa-san, please stop helping."

"Oh, your dress is soaking wet..." Cocoa continued. Her eyes shone with remorse. "I'm sorry, Chino-chan! I didn't mean to make you fall."

Chino found her anger dissipating at the sight despite herself. She looked off to the side. "Please pay more attention in the future," she said, and made her way out of the water. As she passed by the boat, she stopped with a sigh and, reluctantly, pulled her dress over her head and laid it down to dry.

She and Cocoa rejoined the others, who had finished setting up their picnic. Rize glanced over and blinked as she noticed Chino was in her swimsuit. "Did everyone decide to swim before we eat?" she asked, eying their picnic. "That's no fair, not telling Chiya-san and me!"

"It wasn't a decision," Chino said shortly, and she settled herself on the edge of the blanket.

She heard the soft swish of footsteps on the sand behind her, and shortly thereafter Cocoa flopped down beside her. "Chino-chan is so cute in her swimsuit!" she exclaimed delightedly, reaching out to touch the little green skirt that circled the waist of Chino's suit. Then her attention was caught by the food and she turned away, thus missing Chino's renewed blush.

Rize didn't, however. "Chino-chan, are you really sure you're-"

"Please, let's just eat," Chino said wearily, and the subject was dropped.

There was much more food than the four of them could eat, despite making a valiant effort. Chino even managed to make it through a whole stick of celery, with a great deal of encouragement from the others.

Belly full and feeling a bit drowsy, Chino elected to lie on the sand and watch the others as they dashed down the beach to goof around in the water. Cocoa kept making surprise splash attacks, which usually worked on Chiya, but when attempted on Rize always ended with Cocoa getting her head dunked underwater. She seemed to be having fun.

After coming up for air yet again after a masterful dunk by Rize, Cocoa looked back up at the beach. She beamed brightly at Chino and waved. "Chino-chan, come play!" she called happily.

"Maybe in a little while!" Chino called back. Cocoa accepted this answer and went back to imitating a shark.

Chino smiled hazily as she watched. Cocoa was Cocoa. Bits of her hair clung to her neck, and her skin shone in the sun as the light reflected off the water droplets. Even when she was flailing around dramatically, that was the energy that made her Cocoa, and Chino found it very...

Her face grew hot again, and she looked away. She was just like a little sister, huh? It was a good thing Cocoa was so oblivious.

She rolled onto her stomach. The sun was warm and comforting on her back, and the sand was soft underneath her, and suddenly a nap seemed like the best idea in the world. She stole one last glance at Cocoa and then closed her eyes, taking the image with her into sleep.

 

* * *

 

"Chino-chan, wake up..."

Chino found herself being gently jostled and blinked into wakefulness. She rolled onto her side, and Cocoa's face came into view against a noticeably less sunny sky. She'd re-donned her shirt and shorts, and given their relative dryness, she must have been out of the water for a while. "Cocoa-san? How long was I asleep...?" She propped herself up and rubbed her eyes.

"A couple of hours. Chino-chan is so cute when she's sleeping, I just couldn't wake her up."

A second look at the sky revealed a bank of clouds rolling overhead. The wind whipped at Chino's hair with more force than earlier.

"Rize-san said we should probably get going now, so we don't get caught out in the rain," Cocoa continued. She stood and offered a hand to Chino to help her up. This time Chino didn't bat it away, and she tried not to think too hard about the warmth of the palm against hers as she was hauled to her feet.

Rize and Chiya had packed the remains of their lunch back in the basket and were just finishing stowing said basket in their boat when Chino and Cocoa approached. "Are you two ready to go?" Rize asked.

"Yep!" Cocoa said brightly.

"Cocoa-san, we still need to get the boat ready," Chino reminded her. "Unless you did it while I was asleep.

"Ahaha..." Cocoa smiled sheepishly.

"That's what I expected."

"Well, you'd better hurry then," Rize interjected. "There's supposed to be rain this afternoon, and those clouds have been getting darker the longer we wait." She took another look at the sky and bit her lip, reconsidering. "Actually, why don't we switch? I've done this a lot, so I can get the checks done faster. You two can take off now, and Chiya-san and I will follow."

Chino nodded. "Thank you, Rize-san." She quickly pulled her sundress over her head and dragged Cocoa over to the boat, and soon they were heading out to sea once more. Chino carefully adjusted the sail, tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth; this wind was a little wilder than the ones she was used to sailing in.

"Hee, you're so cute when you do that!" Cocoa exclaimed.

"Please let me concentrate."

The boat skimmed through the ocean. They had a good start, but facing a headwind, it was slower going this time, and the clouds overhead grew darker by the minute. After a few minutes she glanced back and confirmed that Rize and Chiya were following behind them.

A droplet plopped onto Chino's head. A few seconds later, she felt another.

"Ah, it's raining on us after all," Cocoa said, wiping a raindrop off her nose. A new drop fell to take its place.

Indeed, the sky wasted very little time in opening up over them. Chino set Cocoa to work making sure the rainwater didn't pool and bog down their little sailboat. The waves were growing choppier beneath them as well, and it took Chino a great deal of concentration to keep them on course. It wasn't a terrible storm, but she really wasn't used to sailing in the rain. She carefully adjusted her sail against the wind, even though it was a little more difficult than usual. Chino's dress was soaked again, but she didn't have the concentration to spare to lament this.

Chino felt the rain begin to splatter her from a new direction and the sail started to flap. She adjusted quickly, and for once Cocoa stayed clear of her work. Suddenly a huge gust came from behind them, shoving their poor little boat onwards. They wobbled precariously, but the two girls managed to keep their vessel upright.

Rize and Chiya were not so lucky. Chino could see them tipping in the rain, almost in slow motion, and then the mast hit the water and the sailboat's passengers were unceremoniously dumped into the sea.

"Rize-chan! Chiya-chan!" Cocoa cried out. "Are you okay?"

Chino could just make out what looked like a hand waving before a swell blocked them from view. Their own boat continued onwards, propelled impatiently by the wind.

"Chino, wait! We have to go back for them!"

Chino made a small adjustment and then immediately corrected it as their boat lurched. "I can't; we'll tip over too!"

The wind at their backs was quite content to shove them along through the waves, and soon Rize and Chiya were completely out of sight behind them.

"Rize-san knows what to do," Chino continued, trying to ease the worry on Cocoa's face. "They'll be alright."

They would have to be, because the wind continued carrying them onward, and the summer storm didn't seem to be abating a bit. Chino suddenly realized she wasn't sure where they were anymore; the islands that had been such clear landmarks in the distance were rendered invisible by the rain. She bit her lip and concentrated on keeping them upright.

She wasn't sure how long they'd been sailing when a shape loomed out of the grey -- a huge cliff wall straight ahead. Chino did her best to turn them, and they tipped wildly, but somehow, miraculously, stayed upright. But then there was a thunk and a loud, unpleasant screech, and staying upright didn't really matter because the boat was filling with water on its own.

Thankfully, cliffs meant land, and they managed to skirt them just long enough to find a stretch of beach before the boat became entirely submerged. They hauled it out of the water, and then they hurried up the beach toward the treeline for shelter from the rain.

There was little they could do but sit there as the sky continued to empty itself on them. The trees provided some protection, but droplets still made their way through the branches and the leaves to plop on their heads. Their clothes were soaked yet again. Chino wrung out her hair and the bottom of her dress as best she could. They sat in silence for a long while, watching the rain. Then the rising tide threatened to snatch their boat from the shore, which required a mad dash to save it and haul it farther up onto the beach.

Chino wrung out her hair and dress a second time.

After what seemed like ages, the rain finally abated with almost the same suddenness with which it began. Chino stood, patting away some of the sand that stuck to her legs and clothing, and went to inspect the boat. She could hear Cocoa following behind her.

The sight was not reassuring. There was a long, jagged gash low on the starboard side of the boat that ran nearly stem to stern. She wondered what kind of rock they'd hit that caused so much damage so quickly. It certainly didn't seem like the sort of thing Chino was equipped to repair.

"It's no good, isn't it?" Cocoa said, breaking Chino out of her thoughts.

"I don't know much about fixing boats," Chino admitted, "but this does look bad."

Cocoa sighed and crossed her arms behind her head, looking up at the sky. "I guess that means we're stuck here for now, doesn't it?"

Chino chewed her lip. "I suppose it does."

Cocoa smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. You have your big sister Cocoa to protect you!"

"Please don't start again."

Cocoa ignored her. "So I guess this is a survival situation! What do we do first? Ooh, I know, we're supposed to make a fire, right?" Before Chino could respond, Cocoa had dashed away toward the trees and quickly returned with a pair of damp twigs. She began to rub them together furiously, a look of intense concentration on her face.

"That's not how you..." Chino started, but gave up. Cocoa could wear herself out if she wanted; a worn-out Cocoa would certainly make Chino's life easier. Her mind started to wander at that thought, so she hastened to turn her attention to the contents of the boat instead.

The picnic basket was still there, wedged under one of the benches. It took more effort than she expected, but she managed to haul it out from under the bench so she could open it. Unfortunately, it seemed the effort wasn't worth it: the food was ruined, soaked with rain and seawater.

Just as she was about to close the lid of the basket, Chino saw a glint in the bottom. She peered closer and reached in to push mushy and unappetizing food aside until she could see the glint again.

She pulled the object out. It was a small knife, suitable for paring apples and other kitchen tasks. It could come in handy. Still lacking pockets, Chino set the knife down on top of the basket lid for later.

Finally she turned her attention back to Cocoa. Her stick-rubbing was noticeably slower, and she was panting. Chino bent over and plucked the sticks from her hands, which were too tired to offer much resistance, and tossed them aside.

"I think we should look around a little. Maybe we can figure out where we are," Chino suggested.

Cocoa hauled herself to her feet. "Yes! I'll go exploring! Chino-chan, you should stay here where it's safe until I give you the all-clear!" She turned and began to march up the beach toward the trees, but found herself stopped by a firm grasp on her wrist.

"Cocoa-san, you get lost on the way to school."

Cocoa tilted her head, as though uncomprehending. With a sigh -- and a firm grasp on Cocoa's arm -- Chino began to walk down the beach. "We should definitely stick together."

This seemed to break through Cocoa's confusion, although perhaps not as intended. "Okay!" she agreed cheerfully. She pulled her wrist gently from Chino's grasp and linked their arms together instead, tangling her fingers with Chino's. "Together is best! Let's go exploring!"

Chino fixed her gaze resolutely ahead and did her best to ignore the warmth of Cocoa's hand in her own.

After a few moments, Cocoa asked, "So... where are we exploring to anyway?"

Chino glanced behind them, where she could still see the cliff they had narrowly avoided looming above where they'd come ashore. "It's safer to follow the coast for now, so we can find our way back easily. We can't go that way," she said, nodding backward, "since we'd have to go way out into the water to get around the cliffs, and the undertow could drag us out to sea."

"I see, I see," Cocoa said earnestly, as though Chino had said something very wise, something that hadn't occurred to Cocoa at all. They walked a few more steps in silence, and then Cocoa continued, "The heat is making me really thirsty though."

Chino swallowed reflexively at the suggestion, and found her throat a bit dry. "Me too."

A handful more steps, and then Cocoa looked at the ocean contemplatively. Abruptly, she changed course toward the water and began to lean down.

Her face stopped a few inches above the water's surface, and she turned to see Chino holding her by the back of her shirt. "Please don't drink the seawater, Cocoa-san."

They continued on, side by side, Chino warily watching Cocoa lest she try to act on another strange impulse. The beach curved sharply back around the trees not too far from where their boat had landed, and when they rounded it, Chino breathed a sigh of relief; there was a stream there, in plain view, spilling out into the ocean. "Thank goodness."

The two girls drank greedily from the stream, and then they continued on their trek. It was hard to keep track of how much time had passed, but they walked and walked without seeing anything more interesting than a few birds, only a seemingly endless stretch of beach in front of them, trees on one side and ocean on the other.

The sun was beginning to get worryingly low, and their journey appeared to have been mostly fruitless. Chino turned back, tugging on Cocoa's hand to get her to follow, and they began the journey back, taking another long drink at the stream as they passed. Not entirely fruitless, at least, Chino thought thankfully as the cool water slid down her throat.

The sun was still hanging precariously above the horizon when they returned to their mangled boat.

"I guess we're going to have to sleep here..." Cocoa said, sounding more subdued than she had all afternoon.

"We should make a shelter," Chino said, "in case it rains again."

"Good idea, Chino-chan! What do we do?"

"Ah..." Chino pondered that for a moment. Her experience in these matters came primarily from a few camping trips she'd taken with her father and grandfather when she was younger. Her grandfather had enjoyed showing her how to "rough it," even though they had tents and a portable stove, but some of the lessons were pretty hazy.

Well, common sense should be able to get them through it, right? "We need something for a roof, and something for bedding," she said, "and something to hold the roof up."

Cocoa nodded determinedly. "Alright, got it! What should we use?"

"Ah..."

Cocoa tilted her head, waiting for a response.

"Leaves and tree branches, I guess?" Chino suggested. Leaves and tree branches seemed to be what they had, anyway.

Cocoa nodded again. "Then I'll gather leaves and tree branches!" She turned on her hill and began to march toward the treeline.

Once again she found herself stopped by a hand on her wrist.

"Cocoa-san, it would be easy to get lost in there. You definitely shouldn't go alone."

"I'll be fine!" Cocoa smiled at her with sunny cheer, almost as if she didn't notice the kind of situation they were in. "Besides, we don't know what might be out there! As a big sister, it's my duty to protect Chino-chan! I can't expose you to danger!"

Chino scowled. "I'm not a child. And stop calling yourself my big sister."

"Eh?! Chino-chan is so cold! Besides," she said with a teasing grin, "I wouldn't have to say it so much if you'd say it instead!"

"I never will."

"But it's so easy! And it would sound so cute to hear it in Chino-chan's voice! Onee-chan, onee-chan..."

This was not improving Chino-chan's mood at all. She felt the beginnings of a headache. "Stop that."

"Just once, pretty please?"

"No."

"Ah, after all we've been through? I don't understand why you're so against it..."

"Of course you don't!" Chino finally snapped, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "You don't understand at all!"

Something in her face must've finally convinced Cocoa that she was serious, because her smile slowly fell. "Chino-chan..." she said hesitantly.

"Leave me alone." Chino turned away from Cocoa and walked a few dozen meters down the beach before plopping herself wearily down in the sand near the treeline. Cocoa didn't follow.

Chino wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her head against them. She shouldn't have snapped at Cocoa like that; she regretted it already. But she was tired, and her head hurt, and she was hungry, and sometimes it was just too hard to listen to Cocoa insist they were like sisters.

"I don't have a chance at all," she mumbled into her knees.

After a little while she looked up and found that the sun was sinking even faster than she'd expected; it was halfway below the horizon already. There was no way they could build a shelter in the dark, even if she apologized now. She sighed heavily and stood, making a halfhearted effort to gather some leaves and grasses to use as bedding, but it was too late. The light was gone far too quickly, and Chino had to stop, lest she get lost. She gathered the pitiful pile she'd managed together as best she could and lay down, just within the shelter of the treeline, to tried to get some sleep. Despite her weariness, it was a long time before she drifted off.

Her dreams were fitful and strange. She dreamt of floating in the middle of the ocean in a cardboard box that slowly soaked and disintegrated, and then sinking, deeper and deeper, curling in on herself as her lungs burned for air.

But then she was being dragged upwards, out of the depths, to float side-by-side with someone on the surface of the water beneath a warm sun.

 

* * *

 

Chino's eyes slowly opened. The sky was light above her, and, more pressingly, there was a warm weight settled around her that in the growing heat of the morning was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

She heard a soft sigh behind her and looked down to see an arm encircling her waist. Cocoa.

She lay there for a moment longer. It was nice, being held like this. It was always nice. Especially when Cocoa wasn't talking so enthusiastically about being her big sister. Chino could almost imagine...

She shook her head. Her stomach grumbled, and suddenly she was aware how hungry she was. She wondered if there was anything edible on this island. Well, she'd never find out by just lying there.

Chino carefully extracted herself from Cocoa's embrace. Cocoa barely stirred. Chino paused for a moment, watching Cocoa sleep. On an impulse, she carefully reached out and brushed away a lock of hair that had fallen across Cocoa's face. She didn't wake.

Chino shook her head to snap herself out of her reverie and stood. Her mouth was dry again, so she decided her first destination of the morning should be the little stream. The white sand sifted beneath Chino's sandals as she walked along, and the sky was a beautiful, pure blue overhead. Waves lapped gently at the shore, and the sound of birds and other creatures reached Chino's ears from the trees. If Chino hadn't been so hungry, and so worried about whether they'd ever be rescued, she would have found it beautiful. As it was, she approached the stream wearily, rolling her shoulders to try to ease the knots in her back from sleeping on the ground, and leaned over for a drink.

The cool, clear water slid down her throat, refreshing her. As she stood, she caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. Peering into the water, Chino could see some small fish darting back and forth. Her stomach grumbled again.

That gave her an idea. She turned and hurried off back to their makeshift "camp," if it could be called that much.

A short while later she returned to the stream with a jury-rigged fishing pole made out of a stick she'd found, a bit of rope cut from the boat's sail line, and a hook made of a small, jagged piece of the hull that had broken off into approximately the right shape. She baited it with some of the inedible mush from the picnic basket and hoped that the fish found it more appetizing than she did.

They apparently did not. A long while later (an hour? Chino had little experience telling time by the sun and shadows), she still hadn't caught a single thing. She'd walked up and down the stream, casting her line and wriggling it enticingly. The fish would sometimes poke at the bait with interest, but then they inevitably swam away without biting. Chino was growing frustrated, but she wasn't about to back down now.

Suddenly a sound split the air which Chino could only have described as a wail of despair. It was shortly followed by a cry of her name. Chino turned and hurried back along the beach, visions of terrible things happening to Cocoa flashing through her mind.

When she skidded around the corner, however, she found Cocoa standing there, alone and, as far as Chino could tell, unharmed. "Cocoa-san, what's wrong?"

Cocoa whirled toward her at the sound of her voice. "Chino-chan!" she cried again, and before Chino had any time to react she was swept into a tight and unyielding hug. "You're still here! You're okay!"

"Of course I am," Chino said with some difficulty, given the way Cocoa was crushing her lungs. "Cocoa-san, please let me breathe."

It took a moment longer than Chino would have liked to finally be released, but the tears shining in Cocoa's eyes made her forget her discomfort very quickly.

"I thought you were gone!" Cocoa said with a sheepish laugh, wiping at her eyes with the neck of her shirt in a very unladylike fashion. "I had a dream... but it seems really silly now..."

"I was just around the corner," Chino said reassuringly. "I wouldn't leave you here, Cocoa-san."

"Ha, I know." Cocoa smiled at her. "I know Chino-chan will stay by my side! Not even a nightmare could trick me into thinking that!" Chino turned her head and concentrated on the waves to control the urge to blush at that. "I was afraid you might have gotten hurt or lost, though... but you didn't! I'm so glad! ...Eh?" For the first time, Cocoa seemed to notice the crude fishing rod Chino was holding. "What's that?"

"Ah..." It was Chino's turn to be sheepish. "Well, we haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday, and I saw some fish in the stream, so I thought..." She rubbed the back of her neck absently. "But I haven't caught anything. I guess the fish don't like soggy, ruined leftovers..."

Cocoa's eyes were bright and excited, though. "That's a great idea, Chino-chan!" she exclaimed. "Show me! Show me, show me!"

"You don't have to act like a little kid about it..." Chino murmured. But she lead the way around the bend to the stream, and then upstream to the point Chino suspected to be the best fishing spot, where she had left the picnic basket. She cast her line and began to wriggle the hook carefully in front of the nose of one of the fish, while Cocoa watched with rapt attention. However, just as before, the fish only nosed at the bait a little and then flitted off, apparently uninterested. Chino sighed. It was more awkward with an audience.

Cocoa still seemed enthusiastic, though. "Ooh, can I try?" she asked. Chino was a little wary of entrusting her jury-rigged contraption to Cocoa; while it was crude, she was a little proud of it.

Still, she hadn't had any luck, and there probably wasn't any harm in letting Cocoa take a shot. Reluctantly, she handed over her pole. "Please be careful," she stressed. "And don't let the hook drag on the bottom, and if you re-bait it make sure you get it on the hook firmly so it doesn't float away..."

Chino trailed off, since Cocoa had clearly stopped listening. She had cast the line into the water, a look of intense concentration on her face, the serious expression somewhat marred by the tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth. Ah, so Cocoa did that too. It really was cute.

"Good luck, Cocoa-san," Chino said. "I'm going to go see if there might be any way to repair the boat."

Cocoa made only a vague noise of acknowledgment, concentrating as she was, and so Chino let her be.

She returned to their boat and took stock. There was an enormous gash in the hull that wouldn't be easy to patch -- but if they _could_ patch it, they could sail just fine; the rest of the vessel seemed to be unharmed. Not that it would necessarily be a good idea to head out to sea. They had no idea where they were, after all. But it could still be useful for fishing and exploring the island.

Chino sighed. She wondered if the others were looking for them, and if they had any chance of being found.

She shook her head. Such morose thoughts wouldn't do anyone any good. She really wasn't sure how to begin patching the boat, though, without glue or nails or anything like that. And it was really hard to think with her stomach distracting her.

Deciding that considering the problem was all she could do about it for now, Chino made her way back to Cocoa. As she approached, she noticed that Cocoa seemed to be focusing very intently on something.

Then the line went taut.

Cocoa yanked back on the pole, and a medium-sized fish popped out the water to land flopping on the bank.

"Oh, you caught one!" Chino said, surprised. It was more than she had managed, and now they had something to eat, even if it was a little meager for the two of them.

Cocoa laughed. "Fishing is pretty fun!" she said, and opened the basket to hold her catch. Inside were two more similarly-sized fish.

Chino was, of course, not at all annoyed that Cocoa had managed to catch them a whole lunch in such a short time when Chino had been trying all morning with nothing to show for it. She demonstrated this lack of annoyance with a scowl, which she did her best to drop when Cocoa looked over at her, beaming, clearly delighted at her success. "That's enough to eat, then," she said instead.

"Yay!" Cocoa's smile was so big it was hard to stay mad at her. She picked up the basket and the two returned to the beach, Cocoa skipping along. "Food, food, food! Chino-chan should prepare the meal, since she's worked at the Rabbit House longer!"

"What kind of coffee shop do you think we run?"

They found a nice flat rock to lay Cocoa's catch out on, and Chino hurried back to the boat to get the knife. "I don't really recognize these fish," she said upon her return, sizing up their lunch. "Raw is better than nothing, but it would be better to cook them..."

"No problem!" Cocoa grabbed her pair of sticks from where she had discarded them the day before and began to rub them together furiously. "I'll definitely make a fire this time, because I'm all fired up!"

"Cocoa-san, I keep trying to tell you, that's not how it works," Chino said with a sigh. She reached over and grabbed Cocoa's wrists firmly, halting her. Cocoa looked at her curiously. Chino bit her lip. "Well, if you're so determined, my grandfather showed me how to make a fire a long time ago. But I never managed to do it myself..."

"Show me! Show me! We can do it, I know!"

"Well..." Chino walked up the beach to search for a suitable piece of flat wood for the base and some kindling. Then she went to their boat and cut another small length of sail line. When she was satisfied, she returned to Cocoa, who had been watching with interest the whole time, and set up the materials in front of her.

"You use the string to spin the stick, like this." Chino demonstrated the basic concept. "You have to make a lot of friction to get it hot enough to light on fire."

She passed the reins to Cocoa, who fumbled for a little bit before seeming to get the hang of it. Her look of intense concentration was back, and with it the tongue at the corner of her mouth.

Chino smiled a little to herself at the sight, and then she turned her attention back to the fish. Though it had nothing to do with the coffeehouse, she had prepared fish before. Mirroring Cocoa's concentration, she set to her task.

She was just finishing up third fish when she heard a surprised exclamation beside her. "Chino-chan, Chino-chan, I see a flame!"

Chino turned immediately and saw that Cocoa was right; there was a tiny flickering flame lapping uncertainly at the kindling. "Don't stop!" she instructed sharply. She leaned down so her face was close to the flame and began to blow gently.

Nothing happened for a few moments. Then the kindling started to catch, and the fire started to spread. "You can stop now," Chino told Cocoa, who was still spinning her stick furiously. She obliged, panting. Chino added some of the twigs and dry leaves she'd gathered to the growing flame. "Keep adding those," she said, standing. "Don't smother it. I'll be right back!" And she dashed off toward the trees without waiting for a response.

Chino searched the ground frantically for some good dry branches and logs to use to build the fire. When she'd found a few, she ran back to the beach and dumped them beside Cocoa before leaving to search for more. It would've been better to search for firewood _before_ they'd actually built the fire, she had to admit, but she hadn't really expected that Cocoa would be able to do it.

She made a couple more trips, noting that the fire was burning more steadily each time she returned. She made her way to the trees with less urgency this time, simply seeking to build their stockpile.

As she reached for a promising-looking branch, her attention was caught by a flash of color in a tree nearby. She paused and peered upwards, trying to figure out what it was.

Fruit. There was fruit hanging in that tree.

But it was too high up for Chino to reach. She contemplated the trunk for a moment, then attempted to wrap herself around it and shimmy upwards. That attempt lasted all of three seconds before she slid unceremoniously down to land on her behind. She tried once more, with the same results, and then again... with the same results. As she sat there, frowning, trying to solve this dilemma, she suddenly remembered her original mission, and hurried to gather up her firewood once more and return to the beach.

The fire was crackling merrily when Chino emerged. Cocoa had stripped the bark off a stick and spitted some pieces of the fish on it, and she was currently roasting them over the fire like marshmallows. Chino copied her, and soon they were sitting in companionable silence, turning their meal over the flame and trying not to blacken it too badly.

It was hard to tell when it was properly cooked like this. Eventually their growling stomachs couldn't take any more waiting, and they decided it was probably cooked enough.

Cocoa took a big bite, chewed purposefully and swallowed. She grinned. "It's... only a little terrible!"

Chino might have been insulted, had she not agreed with the assessment. Still, it was something to eat, and her belly thanked her enough for it that she didn't mind the taste so much. "Maybe we'll get better at this."

"Eh!? Do you think we might be here a while? Two sisters, stranded, fending for themselves in the wilderness..."

"We're not sisters."

"Well then, I'll be Robinson Crusoe and you can be my wife!"

Chino flushed immediately. "Don't say things like that so suddenly!" she admonished. "And Robinson Crusoe didn't have a wife..." She shook her head. "But we'll definitely be rescued soon, so don't worry."

"Ah, I should be the one saying things like that! But," she smiled at Chino, "hearing you say those words cheers me up a lot, so thank you, Chino-chan."

"A-anyway, now that we've eaten, we should work on building a real shelter this time," Chino said quickly. She scanned the treeline. "All we really need is better protection from the wind, and the rain..."

Cocoa followed her gaze, looking intently at the trees. Then she brightened. "Ah, look!" she said, pointing to a long fallen limb. She hurried over and, with quite a bit of effort, began to heft it. Chino hastened to help her, despite not knowing what exactly she intended to do with the limb once she had it. But Cocoa did, in fact, appear to have a plan. She hooked one end of the limb into the crook of a tree branch, and then, with a lot of help from Chino, managed to lift the other end to rest between the branch and trunk of another tree.

Breathing heavily, Cocoa surveyed her handiwork. Then, sweeping her arm out with a flourish, she said, "Ta-da!"

"...What was the point of that?" Chino asked wearily.

"I have no idea!" Cocoa grinned and wiped the sweat from her brow. "It just seemed like the right thing to do!"

Chino's eyebrow twitched. She eyed the now-elevated branch, which was obviously not adequate shelter... or any sort of shelter at all really. She needed to think. She began to pace, first down the beach toward the water, and then back up toward the treeline. She repeated this a few times, and then, as she was turning for another round, her eyes settled on their broken boat, and she stopped. She blinked a few times, and then she started off towards it. After a moment Cocoa trailed after her curiously.

Chino gave the boat a once-over when she reached it. Then she nodded, satisfied with her new plan of action, and began to take down the mainsail.

"Ah, Chino-chan, what are you doing?" Cocoa asked as she watched the other girl work.

Chino struggled a little with a knot and Cocoa rushed to help her. "The sail; we can use it as cover. And the boat... it's going to take us a while to figure out how to fix it anyway, and the boat is wide enough for both of us. So if we laid some wood across the seats like this-" Chino swept her hand from bow to stern "-and then put something soft on top, we'd have a bed that's off the ground."

"Wow, good thinking, Chino-chan!" Cocoa exclaimed.

It didn't take long for the pair to get the sail down. It took a little longer to figure out how to detach the mast. Satisfied with their handiwork, they carried the sail up the beach to where they had set the limb into the trees. Then came the task of moving the boat itself.

"Push harder, Cocoa-san."

"I'm... pushing..."

They must've been more exhausted than Chino had guessed, because moving the boat seemed to take far more effort than usual. Still, with a lot of perseverance, they maneuvered it to lie right below the tree limb they had set. Chino tied the length of the sail to the limb. The other end began to flap in the breeze, rather defeating the purpose of the shelter in the first place. A little more rope (mostly) solved this problem, though; Chino tied the sail to the trunks of a pair of trees a little further away, lower, so that the sail sloped downward. It was far from perfect, given the sail's triangular shape, but they had a slanted little alcove that was somewhat protected now, and they took a moment to shove the boat a little more firmly into it

The next task was to gather some small saplings and the like to lay across the boat's seats to make a flat bed for them, and then some foliage to cover it with. It went surprisingly quickly with the pair working together, and soon they had a... not _comfortable_ , exactly, but decent bed, elevated from the ground and sheltered from the glare of the sun and the chill of the wind.

The pair stood, breathing heavily, admiring their handiwork.

"I'm hungry again," Cocoa announced.

Chino made a vague noise of agreement, and then her memory was jogged. "Oh! I saw a fruit tree while I was gathering firewood. It'd probably taste better than the fish, and it's probably a good idea to have variety in our diet, right?"

"Ah, that sounds great!" Cocoa smiled. "Why didn't we try some before?"

"Well..." Chino trailed off. "Come on, I think I can find it again."

The pair set off into the trees. Before they'd taken more than a few steps, Chino reached out and grasped Cocoa's hand. "Don't wander off."

"Eh? Chino-chan, I'm not a child! Don't you trust me?"

Chino gripped her hand tighter and said nothing.

It didn't take too much searching to find the tree Chino had seen earlier. The fruit still hung tantalizingly just out of reach. Cocoa jumped up a couple of times, trying to snag one, but to no avail.

"I see, I see," Cocoa said. "Chino-chan didn't bring any fruit for lunch because Chino-chan is short!"

Chino puffed out her cheeks. "You couldn't reach them either!"

They stood contemplating the tree in silence for several moments. Then Cocoa wrapped herself around the trunk and tried to shimmy upwards. The attempt lasted all of three seconds before she slid down to land unceremoniously on her rump.

Chino was privately a little gratified to see Cocoa fail as gracelessly as she had, but she was too polite to gloat, especially since that would mean revealing that she'd tried the same thing earlier with equal success. "I don't think that's going to work," she said instead. "We'll have to try something else."

Cocoa hummed and pursed her lips in thought. Then her eyes brightened. "Ah, of course! Chino-chan, get on my back!"

"Huh?"

Cocoa's eyes shone with excitement in a way Chino found a little unnerving. "Let me give you a piggyback ride!"

"This again...?"

Cocoa waved her hand impatiently. "Then we'll be able to reach high enough to get the fruit!" She rested her chin between her thumb and forefinger. "And as a bonus, I get to give Chino-chan a piggyback ride! Everyone wins!"

Chino looked at her skeptically, then up at the fruit. Cocoa did have a point. She sighed. "Alright!"

"Yay!" Cocoa said, clapping her hands in glee. She knelt next to the trunk, and Chino carefully hooked her legs over Cocoa's shoulders, using the tree for balance. Then, with a great deal of teetering and flailing about, Cocoa slowly managed to get to her feet.

"Ahaha, you're heavier than you look, Chino-chan..." Cocoa informed her.

"This was your idea, so don't complain." Chino reached up carefully, and... yes! She twisted one of the fruits free and nestled it in the crook of her other arm so she could reach up and grab another, and another. "Take a step to your left, please," she instructed, and with a dangerous lurch Cocoa obeyed. Still, they somehow stayed upright, and Chino managed to gather another six of the fruits, which she deemed satisfactory. "Alright, I'm ready to get down."

The dismount was not remotely graceful, and Chino nearly lost her grip on several of the fruits, but in the end they both stood on the ground, unscathed. Chino passed half of the fruit over to Cocoa, who immediately bit into one. "Ah, it's sweet and juicy!" she said, delighted.

Chino took a small bite of one of her own fruits and found that it was indeed sweet and juicy, and very delicious. She suppressed the urge to eat ravenously, instead chewing thoughtfully and savoring the flavor as the pair returned to the beach.

They sat in the sand near the remnants of their fire and ate their dinner. The sun was setting on the horizon, filling the sky with pinks and oranges.

Chino glanced over at Cocoa. There was juice on her chin and a big smile on her face as she looked out at the waves. The sunset made her complexion warm and lovely, and Chino felt her heart begin to beat a little faster. She bit her lip, and then made a decision. "Cocoa-san?"

Cocoa looked over at her, curious.

Chino couldn't meet her eyes. Instead, she took a nearby stick from their kindling pile and poked at the embers.

"...Why do you want me to call you my big sister so badly?"

Cocoa tilted her head to the side. "Well..." she said, "you're so cute, and you're younger than me, so how could I not want you for a little sister?"

"But... why a sister?" Chino pressed.

"Because..." Cocoa frowned, as though she were thinking hard. "Well, because I always want to be there for Chino-chan. I want to see her smiling face every morning, and I want her to make coffee for me the rest of my life!"

Chino's face grew hot again at that explanation. "When you put it like that," she mumbled, "it sounds kind of like a proposal..."

"A proposal?" Cocoa grinned. "A proposal! Chino-chan, be my bride, and we'll make coffee together forever!"

Chino drew her legs up to her chest and buried her face in her knees. "There you go again, saying things like that so easily," she said, the sound muffled by her legs. She took a deep breath to calm herself. Then she found her resolve and waited a few moments to steel herself, before turning to look Cocoa in the eye.

It was easier said than done. One look into those big brown eyes with their curious expression and Chino's eyes skittered right off in embarrassment and landed somewhere around her nose. That would have to do. She took another breath.

"Cocoa-san... I don't want to be your little sister."

"Eh?! But-"

"Please let me finish," Chino said sternly, and to her relief Cocoa fell quiet, looking her with kicked-puppy eyes that made focusing on her face even harder than it had been before. But she had to keep going. "Cocoa-san is sweet and caring, and a little goofy, and a little bit of an idiot-"

"Er..."

"-but she always looks out for me. And I like Cocoa-san's smile, and the way she smells, and I like cuddling with Cocoa-san, a-and I... like seeing her smiling face in the morning, too." She swallowed, throat dry. "So I don't want to be Cocoa-san's little sister. Because... because I like you."

The corners of Cocoa's mouth turned up slightly. "Of course I like you, too, Chino-chan!"

Chino shook her head. "No, I mean... I _really_ like you, Cocoa-san."

"I really like you too!" Cocoa beamed.

"No..." Chino frowned in frustration. "I mean... I mean...!" She searched desperately for the right words.

She felt a hand cover her own, and finally looked up, right into Cocoa's eyes. They were bright and clear and lovely, and Chino suddenly felt all the worry and tension leave her.

"I mean," she said quietly, "That I'd like to make coffee for you every day. I'd like to see your smiling face every morning. I'd like that... very much."

Cocoa's expression softened, and then turned playful. She squeezed Chino's hand. "Ah, so you do want to be my bride," she teased.

Chino flushed and looked down again, embarrassed. "I guess I wouldn't mind..." she mumbled.

Cocoa giggled. "Chino-chan would make a cute bride! So I definitely... definitely wouldn't mind either," she said with a shy smile.

Chino looked up at her, scarcely daring to believe her ears. "So then... even after all that talk about being my big sister..."

"Sister complex! Sister complex!" Cocoa sing-songed. "I have a sister complex!"

"Please don't put it that way."

Thankfully Cocoa stopped. She sat there looking at Chino with a sweet, goofy smile on her face, like she didn't have a care in the world. Chino felt her heart beat faster. She clenched her fists in her dress, trying to find her resolve (and maybe do something about her sweaty palms in the process). There was nothing left to do but take action. She licked her lips subconsciously and leaned forward.

Cocoa must have had the same idea, as she leaned forward as well. And they met inevitably -- cracking their foreheads against one another painfully and falling back, clutching their heads.

"Oww..." Cocoa rubbed her forehead, a sheepish grin back on her face.

Chino made a vague noise of agreement, wincing.

"But we can't let a little setback like that stop us! I really, really want to kiss Chino-chan!"

Hearing those words sent a bloom of warmth spreading through Chino's chest. She reached out to cup Cocoa's chin in her hands, and then she leaned in slowly and carefully. Soon she could feel Cocoa's breath against her face. And then her lips met Cocoa's, soft and sweet.

The warmth in Chino's chest spread through her whole body, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She could feel the softness of Cocoa's cheeks beneath her fingertips, and then the gentle weight of Cocoa's hands settling around her waist. Cocoa's lips were a little chapped, but they were soft too, and each little brush of movement sent sparks shooting down Chino's spine. And with each breath she took in Cocoa's scent, the scent she'd grown to feel lonely without...

...underneath other things.

"We really need a bath," Cocoa said cheerfully as they parted. Chino couldn't disagree.

They washed up in the stream as best they could, Chino self-consciously trying not to look too hard at Cocoa as they did so, and then they returned to the beach to watch the last moments of the sunset. Chino tentatively laid her hand over Cocoa's, and she was gratified when Cocoa turned her hand over to lace their fingers together. Feeling bold, Chino scooted closer, pulling their joined hands to rest in her lap, and laid her head on Cocoa's shoulder. Cocoa tilted her head to rest against Chino's.

"It's so peaceful here," Chino murmured, looking out at the red and orange reflecting in the gentle lapping of the ocean.

"Mm," Cocoa agreed. "It's like we're the only two people in the universe."

"Yeah." Chino paused for a moment, rubbing her thumb across the back of Cocoa's hand. "Being stuck here doesn't seem like such a bad thing right now."

She could feel Cocoa smile. "Hee, our own little island paradise, just for the two of us!" She snuggled a little closer to Chino.

"Yeah." Chino found herself smiling too.

"Sun, and sand, and sweet fruit to eat, and a sweet Chino-chan to kiss, every day."

Chino flushed a little again. "Yeah."

"We could grow old together, just you and me, here in our own little world."

"Yeah."

"And when they found the remains of our gnarled bodies, broken by a lifetime of toil for the sake of survival, they'd wonder who we were, and how we got here, and who might have missed us."

"That ruined it."

The last of the red was fading out of the sky, and the stars were visible above them, a vast blanket over the world. "Still, I'm glad I'm here with you, Chino-chan."

"...I'm glad too." She she leaned a little more into Cocoa's side, feeling her warmth. "We should sleep."

They made their way to their makeshift boat-bed. It couldn't really be called comfortable, but it was much better than the ground had been. Cocoa crawled in first, and Chino followed after her, wrapping her arms around Cocoa's waist and holding her tight, nuzzling her face against the nape of her neck.

"Chino-chan...?"

"I'm... really happy right now," Chino said quietly. She gave Cocoa a gentle squeeze.

Cocoa laid her hands over Chino's. Her palms were warm. "I'm happy too. Tomorrow won't be bad if we're together, right?"

Chino nodded against her back. "If we're together, we'll be fine. Good night, Cocoa-san." Chino hesitated, and then pressed a gentle kiss to the nape of Cocoa's neck.

Cocoa made a happy sound and twisted in her arms. "Don't you think we should have a proper good night kiss?" she teased. And then she leaned in and pressed their lips together. The angle was a little awkward, but Cocoa's lips were just as soft as the first time, and when she briefly caught Chino's bottom lip between her teeth, sparks shot through her whole body. Finally she pulled away. "Good night, Chino-chan," she said, lying back down comfortably in Chino's embrace.

Chino snuggled close. "Good night, Cocoa-san."

 

* * *

 

There was a loud noise coming from somewhere overhead, and it was steadily growing louder. Chino opened her eyes slowly. She could see sunshine peeking around the edge of their makeshift shelter. Cocoa had shifted in the night to tuck her head beneath Chino's chin, resting on her shoulder. Chino's arm was currently numb.

The noise suddenly softened, and then there was something else...

Voices?

Eyes widening, Chino extracted her arm from beneath Cocoa's head and half fell out of the boat-bed in her hurry. She got her feet under her and dashed out onto the beach.

There was a large black helicopter resting on the sand, its rotors twirling slowly, prepared to take off again. And pouring out of that helicopter...

"Chino-chan!" Rize jumped out of the chopper and ran to her, giving her a hug. "Here you are!"

Behind her, Chiya was helping a wobbly Syaro out of the helicopter. "We're so glad you're safe," she said.

"Is Cocoa-san okay?" Rize asked.

"Ah!" Chino snapped out of her shocked daze. "Cocoa-san is just fine. Please wait a moment; I'll get her."

She hurried back into their shelter and began to shake Cocoa's shoulder. "Cocoa-san, Cocoa-san, wake up! Wake up!" 

Cocoa's eyes fluttered open. "Huh? Chino-chan?" A lazy smile crossed her face. "If you're not going to call me 'Onee-chan,' it'd be nice if you just called me 'Cocoa,' don't you think?"

Chino flushed immediately. "Ah, Cocoa-s... Cocoa, now isn't the best time..."

"Ah! You said it, you said it!" Cocoa sat up. "So easily, too! And Chino-chan is so cute when she blushes!"

"Cocoa-"

Cocoa leaned up and kissed her. Their noses mushed against each other for a moment before Chino managed to turn her head properly.

"Is everything okay?"

Chino pulled away from Cocoa so quickly she fell gracelessly onto her rear. "Fine!" she said quickly. "We're fine!"

"Hee, Chino-chan is so cute when she blushes," Chiya said, an enigmatic smile on her face.

"Chiya-chan!" Cocoa exclaimed. "Did you get shipwrecked too? Yay! At least we're all together!"

"They're here to rescue us, you dummy," Chino said, hauling herself to her feet.

"Huh? Really?"

"Chiya came with Rize and Syaro in a helicopter."

"Eh? Don't you think you should have told me that right away?"

"You didn't give me a chance!"

Chiya giggled. "You're both cute when you argue with each other," she said. "But don't you think we should get back to the house now? You must be hungry, and tired, and want a bath..."

Chino nodded. "Let's get going. But how did you find us? We didn't even have any idea where we were."

"Well, we just tracked the GPS on Cocoa's phone. I'm sorry it took so long to do it."

"...Would you say that again, please?"

Chiya tilted her head. "Cocoa's phone was still on, so we tracked its coordinates with GPS. It took us a while to think of it, but luckily not so long the battery ran out!"

Chino slowly turned to glare at Cocoa. Cocoa blinked in surprise, and then looked down at the boat. She reached beneath their bedding, fishing around in the bottom, before pulling her hand out, curled around a cell phone. "Huh, I guess it was here all along." She grinned. "How lucky!"

Chino's eyelid twitched.

"But come on, let's get you home!" Chiya insisted again, distracting Chino from her ire. "A nice warm bath and a delicious meal will make you feel better, I'm sure!"

They followed her out to the helicopter, where they were greeted by their other friends.

"We're sorry we ruined your boat," Chino said to Rize as they approached.

Rize waved her off. "It's fine, it's fine! I've lost count of the number of those things I've sunk playing Naval Battle with my dad!"

"Playing... 'Naval Battle'?"

"Rize-chan had an interesting childhood, huh?" Cocoa said. Interesting was one way to put it.

They boarded the helicopter and strapped in for takeoff. Syaro clung to Chiya's arm as they lifted off from the ground, eyes clenched shut. Chiya rubbed her shoulder soothingly.

Chino looked out the window. The helicopter rose above the beach, higher and higher, until it finally cleared the clifftop, and a kilometer or so away in the distance, they could see...

"The vacation house?!"

 

* * *

 

Chino stood in front of the mirror in one of the vacation home's immense bathrooms, clad in a nightgown, toothbrush hanging out of her mouth, and peered at her reflection. Her hair was clean and brushed, still a little damp from the bath, and her belly was full of a delicious (and probably ludicrously expensive) dinner. Her cheeks, nose, and arms were a little sunburnt, but other than that, no trace remained of the fact that she'd spent the last two days stranded on a beach, wondering if she'd ever see civilization again.

She spat out the toothpaste, rinsed her mouth, and sighed.

Was it strange to miss it a little bit?

She exited the bathroom and made her way down the long third-floor hallway toward her bedroom. She didn't miss sleeping on the ground or in a makeshift bed of leaves, or trying to catch a meal of fish (or the taste of said fish), or spending all day out in the hot sun, or the worry that she might never see her friends or her family again. But... it had been nice being alone out there with Cocoa, watching the sun set and the stars come out, like it was all just for them.

She flushed a little and shook her head to clear away those thoughts. With everyone fussing over them, she hadn't had a moment alone with Cocoa since they returned. She wondered what would happen between them now. Her heart beat a little faster. Was Cocoa really taking her confession seriously? Or would she pretend it never happened?

She shook her head again, harder this time. It wouldn't do to have so little faith in Cocoa. Surely they'd sort things out in the-

"Chino-chan?"

Chino squeaked, pulling back from her doorknob like it had burned her and whirling around. Cocoa, standing in the doorway of her own room opposite Chino's, looked at her with concern.

"Are you okay, Chino-chan?" she asked, stepping fully out into the hallway.

Chino tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, fighting a sudden wave of shyness. "You startled me, that's all."

"Hee, maybe I should do that more often! Chino-chan is so cute when she's startled!"

Chino rubbed her arms subconsciously, looking away. "Was there something you wanted?"

Suddenly Cocoa was in her personal space. That was nothing new, but Chino's pulse pounded all the same. "Of course!" Cocoa said, grinning. She laid her hands on Chino's shoulders. "I wasn't going to leave Chino-chan without a good night kiss!"

Chino's eyes shot to Cocoa's face at that. Her smile had softened a little, and there was such a fond, gentle look in her eyes... Chino swallowed against the butterflies that had suddenly appeared in her stomach. "Ah... that's fine then..." she said distractedly, her eyes trailing down to Cocoa's lips.

"But you have to say it first!"

Chino blinked, broken out of her fantasy. "Say what?"

"Say 'Cocoa,' of course! It was barely awake when you said it the first time, and that's not fair! I want to hear Chino-chan say it all the time!"

Chino's face grew hot. She swallowed again, preparing. "Cocoa," she said carefully, managing not to stutter it.

Cocoa beamed. She began to lean down just as Chino leaned up...

...and their foreheads collided.

"Owww," Cocoa moaned.

"We need to be more careful about that," Chino agreed, holding her forehead.

After they had composed themselves again, Cocoa wrapped her arms loosely behind Chino's neck, and Chino laid one hand on Cocoa's waist and the other against her cheek. They leaned in -- slower this time -- and their lips met with an absence of forehead-bumping and a minimum of nose-bumping.

Chino hummed at the warmth of it and pressed herself closer to Cocoa. Now, home and safe and clean, she could bask in Cocoa's familiar scent. One of Cocoa's hands moved to gently cup the back of her head, holding her close. Her lips moved softly against Chino's, and here and there she could feel the barest flick of her tongue, making Chino shiver each time.

"You didn't have to come with us, you know."

Chino and Cocoa pulled apart just in time to see Chiya round the corner from the stairwell, an ill-looking Syaro clutching her arm to steady herself.

"I didn't think a helicopter would be that bad! But it was..."

The pair noticed Chino and Cocoa at that point. Chiya waved cheerfully. Syaro nodded at them, unwilling to let go of Chiya's arm. Chino realized that she still had her arm around Cocoa's waist and pulled it away quickly.

"Is Syaro-san going to be alright?" she asked.

"She'll be okay after she gets some sleep," Chiya said. "I've known her since we were kids, and she always feels better in the morning after getting seasick. Or airsick, I imagine." They continued past the other pair to Syaro's room, which was adjacent to Chino's. Chiya paused on the threshold and patted Syaro's arm. "Don't worry," she said with a smile, "I know how to take good care of her. So please take care of each other as well, alright?" 

Chino wondered if she imagined the mischievous twinkle in Chiya's eye before the door shut behind them.

Alone again, Chino and Cocoa stood in awkward silence, looking at one another.

"Well," Cocoa said reluctantly, "we had our kiss already, so I guess this is good night..."

Chino nodded with equal reluctance. "I guess it is."

They stood still for a moment longer. Chino bit her lip.

"I guess... I should get to bed," Cocoa said finally. She took a step backward.

Chino's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.

Cocoa looked at Chino expectantly. Chino looked at the floor, trying to hide her blush.

"If..." she started hesitantly, "if Cocoa wanted to... just maybe... sleep in my bed tonight... I mean, I guess I got used to it, a little..."

Cocoa's smile could've rivaled the sun in brilliance. "Definitely! I definitely want to sleep with you, Chino-chan!"

Chino flushed harder. "Ah, maybe you shouldn't say it like that... and so loudly..."

Cocoa's happiness was not dimmed in the slightest. She opened the door and entered, tugging Chino in after her before closing it behind them.

Not long after, nestled in the sheets, snuggled up against Cocoa, breathing her scent, Chino slept better than she ever had.


End file.
